


Honey

by bckwrds101



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Some might not be that fluff, idk I just don’t know how to tag in general, some are fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-04 07:21:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15836472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bckwrds101/pseuds/bckwrds101
Summary: A collection of Choni oneshots/drabbles based on Kehlani's song Honey.





	1. Sweet; a little selfish

_I like my girls just like I like my honey:_

_sweet; a little selfish_

 

“TT, do you really need to go?” Cheryl asked and even though Toni was not facing her, but the closet, she knew the redhead was trying no to pout.

“I do, babe.” The serpent answered “Jughead never calls for an emergency meeting without a reason.”

Toni sensed Cheryl rolling her eyes and turned to her, having already found her jacket. As imagined, the redhead was dramatically laying on the bed, a pout on her pretty lips and those deer hazel eyes looking at Toni. 

“What's the matter, Cher? You’re never really bothered by my serpent meetings.” Toni sat at the edge of the bed, taking a red curl in her hands. “Some would even say surprisingly so.”

“I'm cool with the meetings.” Cheryl stated, although she knew Toni didn’t really need her approval. The fact that she was ok with her girlfriend’s duties was just a bonus. A nice surprise, because Toni always thought that it would be the reason for uncountable fights, and they had yet to even bicker about it. 

“Okay…?” She knew that wasn't all Cheryl wanted to say. 

“But did the emergency meeting really have to be scheduled in our only free afternoon of the week?” The pout returned and the pink haired girl swore that if her girlfriend did that one more time she’d cancel her presence in the meeting to spend the rest of the day kissing those pouty lips.

She knew she couldn't do it, though. The serpents needed her, while her girlfriend was just currently needy.

“I know, honey.” Toni saw the girl frown at the nickname, she hated that one “But I’ll try to come back as soon as possible, okay?”

“-kay” Cheryl muttered, looking at her girlfriend who was toying with her hair. 

Toni softly smiled and pecked Cheryl’s forehead. As she leaned down to do so, the redhead wrapped her arms around her, making the latter lose her balance and fall on top her girl. The said girl giggled under her and Toni left a childish chuckle escape her lips.

“I really need to go, babe.” Toni said after a while, noticing Cheryl had no intentions of letting her go.

“No!” Her girlfriend held tighter to the embrace as Toni tried to wiggle her way out.

Toni kissed her lips while laughing at her spoiled antics. Cheryl was usually really affectionate and clingy, and Toni would be lying if she said she didn’t like it. 

Every time Cheryl hugged her, or played with her hands, or even moved a little closer to her when they were surrounded by people - or even alone -, she would feel her heart flutter with pride.

The girl was still the HBIC, still gave everyone else sass, and was far from being a sweetheart. Only she wasn’t that far and Toni was the only one to know that. She felt special because she knew how far Cheryl had come to act that way towards her - and how struggling it was everyday not to have an idea of which side of the redhead she would have to deal with in the beginning of their friendship/something more -, and how sweet she was when her attention was directed at Toni.

“Cher, I’m going to be late.” Toni warned.

“Then don’t go!” She saw her girlfriend smile and felt tempted to do that, but her family needed her. 

“They need me there.” Was the argument she used to try and convince Cheryl to let go.

“I need you too!” Cheryl whined.

“It's an emergency meeting, Cher. I’m sorry but they need me more.” As the serpent was talking, she felt arms slowly letting go of her. She almost wanted them not to.

“It's not fair!” Cheryl protested when Toni stood up and walked to the door. “It's Wednesday. You’re mine on Wednesdays!”

“Yours?” Toni asked, a small grin appearing on her lips “Possessive much?” She saw her girlfriend scoff and roll her eyes.

“You know what I mean.”

“You mean I’m yours on Wednesdays?” The pink haired girl couldn’t help but mock “Didn’t you say I was yours last Saturday?”

“Don't be silly, TT. You’re mine everyday.” Toni raised an eyebrow and Cheryl continued “But I particularly hate to share you on Wednesdays.” 

Toni laughed and walked towards her girlfriend to kiss her, but careful not to be caught on her trap again. 

“Possessive and selfish, huh?”

“Just a little.” Cheryl, who was still laid on the bed, sat up to give her girlfriend a quick peck on her lips. “Just on Wednesdays.”

“Hm…”

“Besides, even if I were selfish every other day, you’d still like it.” She teased.

“Would I?”

She would. Obviously.

“Obviously.” The redhead smiled and pecked Toni’s lips again, gently slapping her butt “Now go to that meeting of yours before I call that hobo you say it’s your friend to cancel it in your behalf.”

Toni just smiled and left the room. She knew damn well Cheryl would do that.

“I'll be back soon, honey.” The serpent yelled from the stairs.

“Ugh! Not again with that ridiculous nickname.” She heard her girlfriend yell from the bedroom and suppressed a laugh, rushing out of the house to meet her family.


	2. Green; a little jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni realizes she likes what she sees when she gives Cheryl some informations about herself.

_I like my women like I like my money:_

_Green; a little jealous_

 

You could say Toni’s little game started accidentally. The serpent and her girlfriend were hanging out at Fangs’ trailer when Cheryl sudden question made her lose the first place ranking she currently held in Mario Kart.

“How many people have you been with?” If one didn’t know better, they'd guess that question was just out of curiosity. But Toni knew it wasn’t, sensing the slight insecurity in Cheryl’s voice. 

So, instead of worrying her girlfriend with numbers, she just shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter’ she wanted to say, but what actually came out of her mouth was “I'm with you now” although she knew that wasn't the ‘being with’ Cheryl meant.

Truth is, yes, the girls loved physical contact, holding hands, arm around a waist, gentle caresses everywhere, but that was just the amount of things they’d done. They hadn’t been… intimate yet, because as much as Toni wanted it and it sometimes drove her crazy, she knew Cheryl well enough to know when the girl starts feeling uncomfortable with the touches, and the last thing the serpent wanted was to pressure her girlfriend into doing something she wasn’t ready to do. 

Of course, not hearing the answer she wanted made Cheryl scoff.

“Anyone I know?” Toni knew the redhead wouldn't give up, so she decided to give her an answer.

“Not yet.” It was vague, but an answer nevertheless.

“Pardon?” Cheryl’s tone was enough to make the serpent chuckle, and she returned her attention to the game. “I'm sorry. I wasn’t expecting to, at some point, meet your exes.”

“Not my exes.” Toni corrected, trying to throw some bombs at an opponent’s car. Toni had only one ex, and thinking about her made her shudder and want to throw some more bombs. “People I have, as you mentioned, been with.”

“Oh! That makes a lot more sense now.” The redhead retorted with sarcasm. “Why on earth would I eventually meet _those_ people?”

Toni laughed at the way Cheryl said ‘those people’, as if they were just pieces of gum stuck under her Louboutin shoes.

“Well, someday you’ll have to acknowledge the fact that I’m a serpent and I don’t just wear this jacket for the aesthetics of it all.”

“I already acknowledge that. Don't offend me! Am I cousin Betty or something?” The pink haired serpent snorted “Besides, what does that have to do with your previous… partners?”

“The fact that you'll have to meet the serpents at some point.” Toni answered, expecting Cheryl to understand the implications of her statement.

It took her a few seconds, though. The realization hit her as she was just asking “And…?”

“Oh!” That was all Cheryl said, so Toni had to pause the game to look at her face and see if she was okay with the information.

The serpent saw a frown and a glimpse of something else in her eyes, something that made her heart flutter and a grin spread on her face. “Are you, perhaps, jealous?”

She was.

“Absolutely not.” Toni could see the girl trying to roll her eyes in a convincing manner, but she didn’t buy it.

She, somehow, actually liked it.

So, when Cheryl finally agreed to go to the Whyte Wyrm, Toni made it her personal game to see that in the girl’s eyes again.

A soft smile to Sara, a high-five followed by a wink to a weird named serpent, a look exchanged between her and Tom, the other bartender. Although none of them were her ‘previous partners’, as Cheryl liked to call.

But it wasn’t until Toni saw her girlfriend and Fangs celebrating their victory in a pool game against Sweets and Jug with a hug that Toni decided to stop. It wasn’t really fun when she was the one on the jealous side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! thank you for reading these first chapters, I hope you liked them.  
> I'm not really satisfied with this one, but I'm going to post it and do a better job on the next (that it's almost finished).  
> Thank you again for reading Honey and see you next time!


	3. Beautiful wreck; Colorful mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni shows up in Cheryl’s bedroom at 3 in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’ll never stop thanking you all for reading this story. 
> 
> Anyways, I just want to explain two things before this chapter starts:  
> 1- English is not my first language, so I’m sorry for any grammatical errors.
> 
> 2- These drabbles/oneshots don’t happen in chronological order, reason why Toni and Cheryl will already be in a relationship in some and not yet in others.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Cause I'm a beautiful wreck_  
_A colorful mess, but I'm funny_

 

Toni didn’t really have a home. 

She wasn’t homeless, according to the system and the social worker that came to check on her once every two months or so. So technically, according to the same system, she had a house. Her uncle’s trailer.

But having a house and having a home was not really the same thing. Not to her, at least. 

 

Toni thought Cheryl had a home. That must have been the reason she found herself parking her bike near Thistlehouse at 3AM after a terrible encounter gone wrong with some Ghoulies near the Whyte Wyrm and an even worse encounter with her uncle in the trailer. 

 

Toni had never been there before, all she knew was the address. It didn’t really go through her mind how was she going to get in there - she climbed the gates, all good - and how was she supposed to know where Cheryl’s room is. 

 

It must have been her lucky night - not really - because there was only one room with dim lights on. And she had a feeling that Penelope wasn’t the type of person to sleep that late at night.

 

Toni climbed some tree branches to get to the window that she hoped belonged to Cheryl’s bedroom. And she was right, she noticed as soon as she reached the balcony, that really was Cheryl’s bedroom. But she was also wrong, she realized as she entered the bedroom silently, hearing noises coming from another part of the house -wait, wasn’t Cheryl’s mother a widow?-, and saw the redhead wearing headphones, staring blankly at the ceiling of the bedroom. It turns out Cheryl also only had a house.

 

To say Toni tried not to scare the girl was an understatement. She’d never been so careful and silent in her entire life. Which was saying a lot, given the fact that she was in a gang. But of course that for a traumatized girl who could barely sleep at night because of her nightmares, any different shadows in her room when she was awake would be a startling sight. 

 

Cheryl’s first impulse was to scream, Toni saw when she locked eyes with the girl, but something must have made her change her mind, so she just flinched away instead. 

 

“It’s me!” Toni whispered, she knew the girl was wearing headphones but that was the only thing that she thought would be a good idea. She just stood there, not making any movements until Cheryl recognized her and her features. They were in a slightly light room, so it wouldn’t take long. It didn’t.

 

“Toni?” Cheryl asked, looking at the girl in front of her. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Came here to make your dreams come true, Bombshell.” The serpent tried to joke, but as she tried to laugh, she felt her left ribs hurt. “Ouch!” She winced.

 

“What happened?” As soon as she saw Toni’s pained expression, Cheryl jumped out of bed and rushed to her side, helping her  sit down.

 

“I’m so funny it hurts.” She tried to joke again, only to look at the taller girl’s face and see she wasn’t buying it. “We had a fight with some Ghoulies.” The serpent told half the truth, deciding not to talk about her uncle yet. They were closer than they were at the drag race, definitely closer than when Toni arrived at Riverdale High, especially after their meeting at the movie theater, but they weren’t that close yet, were they? 

 

Toni saw her ‘friend’ run to the bathroom after her explanation. For a moment, she thought the other girl was going to throw up hearing the name of the other gang, but what she did was come back with a first-aid kit. 

 

Toni smiled, for once she wasn’t going to have to patch herself up as she always did (The boys were usually in a worse condition than her to help). Unless Cheryl couldn’t stand blood, which was still a possibility in Toni’s mind. But when Cheryl started tending her visible cuts and bruises, the wounded girl realized she was stereotyping Cheryl Blossom too much, and that was usually what drove people away from the Northsider. 

 

Cheryl was careful, Toni could feel. Her touches were gentle yet helpful, and the way she took care of her made Toni think that that might not have been the first time she did that. 

 

For a moment, both girls forgot about the noises coming from outside of the bedroom, Cheryl too focused on her job as a nurse and Toni too focused on Cheryl’s touch. You could say they were in a comfortable silence, only it wasn’t that silent.  

 

“I-“ Both started at the same time, after the noise became to loud. They stopped at the same time too. 

 

“Go on.” Toni encouraged.

 

“Your...” Cheryl started. Was she blushing? “Your ribs.” 

 

“Oh!” Realizing what the girl meant, Toni looked at her and grinned. “Trying to get my clothes off, already, Bombshell? Not even gonna take me on a fancy date?”

 

“So funny, Topaz.” The blush came back to the redhead’s face, even though she was trying to play it off by rolling her eyes.

 

“They usually say I am, indeed.” Toni chuckled while taking her jacket off, carefully not to move her sides much.

 

“But don’t forget you’re the one who showed up in my room at what? 3 AM?” As the serpent got rid of the jacket, Cheryl held the hem of her t-shirt, knowing the first wouldn’t be able to take it off by herself.

 

“I would say we’re both eager, then.” Toni answered, helping Cheryl take the t-shirt off, again doing the slightest moves possible.

 

“You wish.” 

 

But if Toni could believe for a moment that  Cheryl was not interested, her doubts were wiped away as the redhead’s eyes stared at her shirtless body for far too long. And Toni was sure Cheryl wasn’t checking her injuries, she was checking her out. 

 

“You should close your mouth, you’re starting to drool.” The redhead’s eyes quickly moved to the kit she was holding.

 

“Are you always that witty at this time of the day or is that attitude reserved for me?” Cheryl didn’t even bother to look at her, quickly grabbing the ointments from the first aid kit to help tend the bruises on her left ribs. 

 

“I have a lot of things reserved just for you, Bombshell.” Toni wiggled her eyebrows, even if the other girl couldn’t see.

 

“Like awful jokes, I suppose.” Cheryl sighed.

 

“Hey, my jokes are amazing! All the boys at the bar-“ Toni started to argue, but stopped as soon as she felt gentle fingertips tracing her left side. Her tattoo.

 

“So that’s where it is.” The serpent was almost sure she wasn’t supposed to hear that, given the way that it was muttered, and how she startled her ‘friend’ when she said:

 

“So you’ve been thinking about my body, then?” 

 

Cheryl took her hands off Toni’s sides and looked down, she was clearly unaware of what she was doing, seeming just mesmerized at the tattoo. Maybe Toni missed the touch, or maybe she didn’t want the other girl to feel uncomfortable around her, but as soon as the pink haired girl couldn’t feel her fingers on her skin, she quickly grabbed the girl’s hand and put it back there. Letting her trace the tattoo as much as she wanted.

 

“I did it when I was 13.” Toni felt the need to explain. “I wanted a pink, blue, yellow and purple colored serpent, but Sweet Pea and Fangs convinced me not to do it.”

 

Cheryl hummed, admiring the tattooist work. 

 

“So you went with a plain one with an aquarelle on top of it, instead.” The redhead concluded. “Sweet Pea and Fangs should get an award, this one is way better.”

 

“You don’t even know how the other one would turn out!” Toni protested. She loved her tattoo and it uniqueness, but she felt the need to defend the one her 13 year old self wanted to have.

 

“But no other tattoo could represent you as well as this one does.” Cheryl argued, smiling. 

 

“A funny quick witted serpent that invades pretty girls’ rooms in the middle of the night?” The serpent asked, caressing her ‘friend’s’ cheeks, since she was leaning really close to Toni’s side to see the tattoo better.

 

“I would say ‘a colorful serpent’, but since you called me pretty, I’ll stick to your explanation.”

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Heartbreak vet - with a stone cold neck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident at the Wyrm 
> 
> (and Toni sees a surprising - but not that surprising - side of Cheryl)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! I’m back with another chapter!  
> I’m bad at author notes, but this one is necessary because I would put a warning for Strong Language (not that strong, but it’s mentioned) in this one just in case, but I’m new to this whole posting my stories thing so I don’t really know how to do it.   
> So, yeah, I think that’s it. Warning for language.   
> I hope you like it!

_Oh, I'm a heartbreak vet_   
_With a stone-cold neck, yeah, I'm charming_

 

Another Friday night at the Wyrm. Another regular night with drunken old serpents wanting for their drinks to be served. Toni was bartending while Fangs, Sweet Pea and her girlfriend played darts - Cheryl was kicking they’re assess, to be honest -.

All normal until Toni turned around to fill some beers and heard a cracking sound, followed by a curse leaving Sweet Pea’s mouth. Standing up to turn around the pink haired serpent heard a loud familiar voice... too familiar.

“Why don’t you look where you’re going?”

“I’m pretty sure I was standing here and you were the one to bump into me.” Toni turned around to see Cheryl with crossed arms and an annoyed look on her face, just as annoyed as her tone when she answered the other woman. Leslie.

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Toni froze, holding two cups full of beer, looking at the scene in front of her. Her ex, face red in anger, staring deadly at Cheryl, who looked unfazed, but slightly annoyed.

“You broke my glass!” The woman stood closer, trying to intimidate the redhead. Hell, even Toni would be intimidated.

“I’m pretty sure you did that yourself.” The pink haired girl could see her girlfriend rolling her eyes, not even moving away from the other woman “But whatever, I’ll buy you another one.”

“You think everything can be bought with money, princess?” Leslie took one step closer and Cheryl didn’t even flinch.

“A glass of beer? Definitely!” Toni saw the redhead look at the other woman dismissively and exchanged a worried look with Fangs, while Sweet Pea got ready to defend Cheryl in case things got physical. Which they would, if she didn’t stop talking that way to Toni’s angry ex.

“I do not need your family’s dirty money.”

“If you’re throwing a fit because of a stupid broken glass, you probably do.” Toni wasn’t even sure Cheryl realized she was talking to a serpent - a very aggressive serpent -. Her girlfriend almost seemed bored, looking down on the girl as if all that yelling was something she was used to every day, and it didn’t scare her. It should, though.

By that point, Toni knew it was better for her to stay put but not intervene, knowing pretty well her presence near Cheryl would only make Leslie angrier. Fangs agreed with a look and made a gesture for her to stay away, while Sweet Pea was too focused on the girls’ interaction to even remember Toni wasn’t near them.

What came next was something Toni - or any other serpent, for all that matters - didn’t expect. One moment Leslie was standing too close to Cheryl, muttering something, and seconds later the same deadly woman had her face banged against the pool table, Cheryl choking her with one arm and twisting her wrist with the other one.

Someone must have turned the music off, because even from the bar, Toni could clearly hear Cheryl’s voice, speaking calmly to the woman, who had her face contorted in anger.

“I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t need to. But say that again and I swear to God I’ll make sure you live Hell on Earth.” Cheryl twisted her wrist a bit more, Sweet Pea moving a little closer in case he needed to help. At that point, he was probably going to have to help Leslie. “Is that understood?”

Everyone at the bar had their mouths opened in shock. Even Sweet Pea - and nothing really shocked the boy-. The woman nodded once, answering Cheryl’s question. But that didn’t seem enough for the redhead, because Toni saw her hold her grip tighter and ask again. “Is that understood?”

“YES!” The woman yelled and Cheryl loosened her grip and let her go. “Whatever, bitch!” Toni heard Leslie say, although not as loud as she usually does when she wants confrontation.

“Well, as pleased as I am to grace you all with my bitchy ways.” Cheryl glanced around, as if talking to everyone that stopped their activities to watch the fight, expecting a Blossom to leave there with, at least, a purple eye. “Some of us have a 4.0 GPA to uphold. And by some of us, I mean ME.” Fangs and Sweet Pea exchanged glances trying to understand what just happened, and Toni could see a grin plastered on Sweets’ face. “Which means I should probably leave you all to your serpent duties and go to rest.” She, then, looked at Sweet Pea and Fangs, smiling sweetly/scarily at them. “Thank you for the game, boys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ah!” Cheryl seemed to remember something and turned back to the serpents watching her, since she was already facing the door and ready to leave. “And whoever wants the glass of beer I owe the lady over there,” the redhead motioned her head to Leslie “feel free to request it at the bar, I’ll be glad to pay for them with my family’s dirty money. Toodles!” With that, she turned back around and left, clicking her heels.

The old drunk serpents didn’t waste their time when hearing what the girl said and ran back to the bar, overcrowding the balcony and overloading Toni with work.

After a while, all drinks distributed, Toni finally had her time to rest. Leaning on the balcony to watch the dynamic of the bar, she saw Sweet Pea heading towards her, with a grin on his face, and she knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Serpent material.” Were the two words that left his mouth and made Toni sigh. She knew that’s what Cheryl was, and Fangs and Sweet Pea had been warning her about it.

“You’ve said that already, Sweet Pea.” Toni reminded him as he took his place beside her, behind the balcony, where the bartender works. “Two thousand times, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes, but that thing with Leslie just proved my point.” He stated, as if it were obvious. It was, Toni just didn’t want to think about it yet. “Speaking of the devil, what is she doing here? Wasn’t she at college in another state?”

“Dropped out.” The shorter serpent answered, sighing again. Between Cheryl being fit to be a serpent and her ex girlfriend return, she wasn’t really sure of what was the worst subject of discussion. “What did she say to Cheryl, anyways?”

Her girlfriend was usually quite collected, that being the reason why she didn’t know the girl could even do what she did to Leslie earlier at the pool table. Cheryl had warned Toni once about her temper, she remembered, but when the girl said things ‘escalated’ when she got pissed off, Toni was sure she meant that she’d just scream louder.

“Didn’t hear it quite well.” Sweet Pea took her out of her thoughts, admitting he was more focused on what he thought Leslie would do to the girl than on what she was actually saying. “Something about you being a stone-cold necked bitch, I think.”

“Well, that’s great!” Toni rolled her eyes, sarcastically as her friend shrugged. “She probably told Cheryl her version of what happened.” Although, thinking about it, it wasn’t possible because it was probably a 5 seconds whisper that aggravated her girlfriend. And any version of the story would take at least 2 hours to be told.

“Which definitely isn’t ideal but...” The boy started

“But?”

“At least your girl didn’t get beat up as I thought she would.” He continued.

“As anyone else in this bar thought she would, Pea.” The girl corrected and heard his loud laugh.

“She’s something else, that Red.” Sweet Pea stated with a chuckle.

“Isn’t she, though?”

Toni had heart eyes every time someone acknowledged something about her girlfriend she already knew herself. Feeling proud to be the one to discover so much about the redhead.

“Maybe you should go talk to her?” His friend suggested and she shook her head.

“She’s at the trailer, I know that.” His uncle was out on a 3 weeks trip doing who knows what. “Besides, I still have one more hour to go.”

“Fogarty and I will cover for you.” The boy said, nudging her sides for her to stand up properly. “Who knows what Red might do to Hotdog, with that temper of hers, if he chews on her slippers one more time.” He added and Toni chuckled, remembering the interactions of Cheryl and the dog.

Giving Sweet Pea her pen and a small notepad, Toni nodded at him before leaving the bartenders’ side of that balcony.

“Oh! And Tiny.” He called her back and she turned around to look at him “If she ever wants the jacket, I would vouch for her.” The tone in his voice more stern than the one he just joked with her before.

“Let’s just not rush things, okay?” She pleaded and saw the boy shrug “Serpent material or not.”

“Whatever you say, Tiny.” Sweets said and she walked to the door.

Looking back to make sure everything was okay and no other fights were started, she saw Leslie at the back of the bar, with two of her colleagues, staring at her. Her ex grinned, waved goodbye and turned around to talk to her friends. So Toni just left.

-

She found Cheryl in bed already, blanket wrapped around her, her phone was playing some kind of meditation song and the girl in question taking deep breaths.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Toni asked, leaning on the doorframe, seeing the girl slightly jump when her voice filled the room.

The girl shook her head, breathing in and out twice. “Can’t really breathe.” She managed to say, before taking another deep breath.

“Panic attack?” Toni jumped from where she stood and ran to her girlfriend’s side. Knowing too well how those affect the girl she lov-likes.

Cheryl, however, shook her head again. “Too angry.” She muttered as Toni gently caressed her hair.

“Don’t let whatever that woman said get to you, Cheryl.” Toni worriedly said, when she heard the girl heavy breathing again.

The redhead sat up, looking at Toni intensely. “You’ve been nothing but good to me, Toni.” Toni looked at her as she started talking, caressing her cheeks and giving the redhead a small smile. “You’ve done nothing but to make my miserable life better. You take care of me, you listened to me, held my hand, said all those amazing things. Hell, you broke me out of conversion therapy for dear’s sake!”

“Cher- I-“ The pink-haired started, but couldn’t help but shut up. She wanted to tell Cheryl everything. Every side of the story that existed. Wanted to tell her that Leslie wasn’t all wrong when she said Toni was a ‘stone-cold necked bitch’. But she couldn’t, she couldn’t make Cheryl see her for what she really was.

So they stay in silence for a while.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” Cheryl was the first to break it and for that, Toni was glad. She didn’t know how long she would take not to tell her girlfriend about her ex and their somehow tragic story. “I should have enunciated my thoughts just like the eloquent human being I am, and not just gotten aggravated and done what I did.”

“That was surprising, to be honest.” Toni said with a smile, making her girlfriend smile back at her “Really badass of you, if I must say.” Both of them chuckled for a while before the silence reigned again.

“She said she couldn’t wait for you to break my heart, like the stone-cold necked bitch you were.” Hearing the words coming from her girlfriend’s mouth was probably even worse than hearing them from her ex, the way she muttered the first part insecurely, and spit the last part with anger.

“I don’t intend to do that, Cher.” Toni felt the need to assure her. She didn’t intend to, but it might happen the same way.

“Of course not, TT.” Cheryl smiled tenderly at her “That idea doesn’t really anger me, because if that ever happens, I’m sure I’ll be the one to do something to ask for it.”

“Don’t say that-“ Toni tried to stop her, tried to stop her from going where Toni couldn’t reach her, the world of self-hatred Penelope so much imposed in her mind.

“I don’t care who she is, Toni. You meant something to her, I’m sure you did. And I don’t care what happened between the two of you. Whatever it is, it will be different with us” Cheryl kept talking, her breath hitching a little, indication of upcoming tears, Toni knew. “What I care about is how people talk about the girl I love, and her words and disrespect were enough to make me want to kill her with the dart I was holding.” Toni felt her own tears coming too at her girlfriend’s words.

‘The girl I love’ She had said. ‘The girl I love’ It couldn’t stop repeating in her head.

“But since I’m an angry but classy human being,” Cheryl continued with a chuckle “I managed not to make that much damage.”

“Which was already damage enough, if you ask me.” Toni grinned, remembering the woman’s surprised face when her girlfriend hit her head at the pool table. “Leslie is a tough one, but you didn’t even flinch.”

“I’m tougher.” Her girlfriend retorted, crossing her arms and smiling with pride.

“The toughest.” Toni winked at her as she laid the girl back down at the bed, laying beside her and wrapping her arms around Cheryl’s waist. “You were so hot too.” She whispered. “I wished you were the one banged at the pool table, and I was the one banging you, of course.”

Cheryl snorted, toying with one of Toni’s pink curls. “So charming, Topaz.”

“Some would say I am.” Toni stated, raising her head to kiss her girlfriend’s lips and laid back down, head on the girl’s chest.

“Probably just me.” She heard Cheryl’s retort and giggled.

“Whatever, Blossom.” Toni rolled her eyes “Let’s just go to sleep so you can buy me some breakfast at Pop’s tomorrow with your family’s dirty money.”

Cheryl just chuckled and Toni knew the girl’s breathing was back to normal and her anger was far long gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!   
> Let me know what you think in the comments, if you want. :)  
> (Disclaimer: I have no idea where the name Leslie came from, but if it was already used in other works, I’m sorry.)   
> Ok. Awkward author here. I don’t know how to do things properly, sorry.
> 
> Thank you again :) see you next time!


	5. All the pretty girls in the world...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni finds herself in a Northside party to keep her new 'friend', Cheryl Blossom, company.

_All the pretty girls in the world_  
_But I'm in this space with you_

 

 

 

Toni had a lot of things to do during the weekend. She had to work, first of all, a long shift on Saturday night. Not to mention all the homework that she had and all the subjects she had to study, given the fact that Southside High was never really worried about their education and Riverdale High seem to be. Not to use her new ‘friend’s’ words against her, she didn't want to be responsible for her new high school’s GPA drop.

 

 And yet, there she was, per that same friend's request, sitting in a living room full of drunk northsiders, loud music, too much alcohol and Cheryl nowhere to be found. Probably getting more drinks or dancing with a disgusting bulldog. That thought made Toni’s jaw clench, and she drank some of her beer.

 

“Jacob Smith is charming.” Cheryl arrived, stumbling a little and sat by her side. “And he’s looking at you non-stop.”

  


“Stop trying to set me up with one of your Northside friends, Blossom.” The serpent rolled her eyes at her ‘friend’ as she saw the girl taking a sip from her red cup. Wasn’t she drinking something from a blue cup before? And a green one before that? “And maybe you should stop with the drinks, you’re starting to sound like a drunk old woman”

“Am not!” Cheryl argued, cutely, Toni could say. 

“Is so!”

“Am not!” The redhead pouted and crossed her arms.

“Whatever, Bombshell. And I want nothing with Jacob Smith, ok?” There was only one person Toni wanted something with in that room “Besides, I’m more into girls anyways.” Toni shrugged, taking a sip of her beer.

“Hmm” Closing her eyes and resting her head on Toni’s shoulder, Cheryl stated “It makes sense, I guess.”

“That I like girls more than boys?”

“That you approached me.” The girl lazily explained, Toni could see she was thinking that was a appropriate time for a nap. “It takes one to know one, isn’t that what they say?”

“I don’t really agree with that throughly. Neither I approached you because I imagine you’d come out to me.” Toni knew Cheryl was either taking a nap or not going to remember it the next day, so she continued. “I approached you because I saw you were special someway, the fact that you like girls was just a bonus.”

“Bonus, TT? Why?” The girl moved her head a little, making herself more comfortable, talking to Toni in a joking manner “Are you perhaps thinking about trying something?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Toni was thankful the redhead had her head on her shoulder, so she couldn’t see her blush. She could also feel Cheryl’s head getting heavier by the minute. “And you, Miss Blossom, is terribly out of it, you sure you don’t want to head home?”

Toni felt Cheryl shudder at the mention of her house and rested her cheeks at the top of the girl’s head to calm her down. Maybe Thistlehouse was not a good idea at the moment. Besides, she had no idea how would she help Cheryl in her house if she herself was not welcomed inside.

“Not yet, TT.” Cheryl’s voice was soft but lazy, making Toni smile. “There are a lot of pretty girls in this party, and we’re not leaving until we find you one.”

“I’m pretty sure 90% of these people are straight.” The pink haired girl rolled her eyes when saying that, drinking the rest of her beer. Thanking God and cursing at the same time for still being sober. 

“You never know. We now know your gaydar is not exactly on fleek.” Cheryl joked, poking Toni’s side. And the serpent could swear she felt stupid butterflies in her stomach before she chuckled lightly at the other girl’s statement. Glad she was comfortable enough in Toni’s presence to make some jokes.

“Well, Bombshell, why would I care about all the other pretty girls in this place when I have the prettiest one right by my side?”

Toni heard a cute drunk giggle escape Cheryl’s mouth and felt hands moving on her stomach, stopping on her waist.

“You’re funny, TT.” The redhead said and quickly pecked her neck, which was probably what she could reach in her drunk state, even if she aimed for the cheeks. That peck itself made Toni shiver. “I hope you find someone as great as you are. You’d be an amazing girlfriend.”

‘I found her already!’ She wanted to say, but simply smiled and kissed the top of Cheryl’s head. 

“Come on, Bombshell. You had too much to drink, you’re staying with me tonight.” The serpent helped her up, holding her waist to support the girl.

“Wh- Where are we staying?” The words slurred out of her mouth, and Toni found that incredibly adorable.

“Sunnyside.” She answered “If that’s ok, I mean.” Quickly adding, when she remembered the girl was not from anywhere near Southside.

“Wherever you are, TT.” She heard Cheryl mutter, agreeing with the chosen place. “Wherever you are.”

Toni took her to her uncle’s trailer, that was a mess, but at least the man wasn’t there. She helped Cheryl off her clothes and dressed her on comfortable sleeping wear, laying the girl down on the bed when she finished.

Wanting to give the redhead space but not really wanting to leave her side, she spread some blankets on the floor and grabbed a pillow on the bed that was already occupied by an almost sleeping Cheryl. The couch was too far and her ‘friend’ was too drunk, so Toni just laid on the blanket covered floor and waited to hear rhythmical breaths coming from the bed.

Before that, however, she heard the redhead whisper, maybe thinking Toni was already asleep.

“If we could choose, TT, I wish you’d choose to fall in love with me.” With that, she fell asleep.

Thankfully, Toni didn’t really think Cheryl would remember that in the morning. The last thing she wanted was a cautious, uncomfortable and distant Cheryl, when all she wished for was to be even closer to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this chapters and the previous ones.  
> I might check this story as complete after about two more chapters. I think there's only four more lines I'm going to write about.  
> Once again, thank you.


	6. My fire was fate with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni wonders about her relationship with Cheryl and how it became what it was at that moment.

_Colored out the line_   
_I came to find, my fire was fate with you_

 

You know that feeling where everything makes sense? Toni hadn’t really felt that in a long time.

But there she was. Feeling it. Alongside a Northsider from all people. The Northenest Northern Northsider that could possibly exist.

Sometimes - like at that exact moment - she lies in bed at night, her girl curled up by her side, and thinks how everything became what it was.

Was it at the drag race?

**“Not today, Cha Cha. I was born for this moment.”** Toni couldn’t have agreed more.

Was it when they closed down Southside High and she accepted the fact that she would have to take shit from northsiders all school days, but when Facist Barbie came down the stairs she decided she wasn’t gonna accept that? Because they were all the same - only Southsiders were a little better -

**“Why don’t you come over and say that to my face?”**   
**“Happily, Queen of the Buskers!”**

Was it at the restroom when she heard the infamous phone call to Jughead?

**“... clearly, you’re in a lot of pain.”** What was supposed to be a joke suddenly turned serious when she looked at the girl’s eyes. Her façade going down for a split second - she really was in a lot of pain - before an insult made its way through Cheryl’s mouth.   
**“Get you sapphic Serpent hands off my body.”** Did people still use that word?

Was it at Pop’s after their movie date?

**“You’re sensational.”** And she was. Toni said that because she believed it. Even after bickering after bickering. Prejudice after prejudice. One moment was all it took for Toni to see it - sometimes she wishes Cheryl could see that for herself-.

Was there even an exact moment for it to have happened? Or was it the combination of all interactions?

Was it fate?

“TT, is everything okay?” The girl in question asked, slowly opening her eyes after a few minutes sleeping.

Cheryl didn’t sleep much. She told Toni not to worry, but she still does. You can’t really go through everything Cheryl Blossom has been through and survive without a good night of sleep, because it must be exhausting. But then again, you can’t probably go through everything Cheryl Blossom has been trough and be able to easily sleep at night.

Toni sighed as she ran a hand through the girl’s hair. “All good, babe.” She felt the girl snuggle closer, resting her head on Toni’s chest and a firm hold on her waist, as if not wanting her to go somewhere. Which is silly because with Cheryl by her side, there’s no place Toni’d rather be. “You?”

Cheryl nodded, Toni felt it more than saw it. Feeling the redhead’s slowly breathing, Toni kept caressing her hair, knowing she would probably fall asleep again soon.

“Do you ever think of leaving?” The serpent heard her girlfriend ask, half whispering, half wondering.

“Riverdale?” She asks, because nothing else runs through her mind, she was starting to get sleepy too. She knew Cheryl would never ask her about leaving the serpents, so Riverdale was the only thing that came to mind.

“Me.” Cheryl answered, discreetly tightening her grip on Toni’s waist, Toni noticed.

Even with the shock of Cheryl’s words - just like leaving the Serpents, Toni never thought the girl would even think about Toni leaving her -, Toni answered fast, in a heartbeat.

“Never!” The grip on her waist slowly faded and Toni heard a sigh. A relieved sigh.

“Hey, babe. I don’t know what made you think that... if I made you think that somehow...”

“No!” Cheryl was quick to stop her before she said anything else. “You did nothing, TT.”

Cheryl planted a kiss on the uncovered part of Toni’s skin and it made her feel the stupid butterflies. It amazes her that even after all those months, Cheryl could make her feel like she did when they were just starting.

“It’s just...” The redhead started “I just love you too much, TT. It scares me sometimes.”

“Cher... I love you too! So freaking much!” The pink haired serpent stated, chuckling a bit after that. “So don’t you worry, Bombshell. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

“As if I would ever want to.” Her girlfriend muttered back, and the serpent knew there was a smile forming on her beautiful face.

Toni settled for holding Cheryl tight, one arm around her body, her hand soothingly running trough the girl’s back and the other still slowly caressing her beautiful red hair. These were small comforting gestures she found herself doing a lot after getting to know the girl.

She found out that just showing that she cared for Cheryl was enough to give the latter comfort. The redhead loved affection, she craved it, yes, but nothing soothed her more than caring words. Because she’s only had those in limited occasions, and sadly said by not so many people.

But there was something about touching Cheryl that comforted both girls in different manners. Knowing Cheryl was there, safe and within reach, curled up against her, relieved Toni and made her happy just as much. Being with the person you love can do that to people.

So yes. If there was one word to describe how two people like Toni and Cheryl fell in love, fate is probably the one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of all the chapters I wrote for this story, this was the one that didn’t really fit the verse of the song that well. And for that, I’m regretful. But I decided to post it either way because I don’t really know, I just did.   
> Thank you for reading.


	7. Fly great escapes with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The escape from Sisters of Quiet Mercy and its aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this story.  
> Thank you all for reading it! :)
> 
> Trigger warning for mentions of conversion therapy in this chapter. Not explicitly, but it’s there.

  
_Heartache would stay with you_

  
_Fly great escapes with you_

 

Toni was in pain for the girl she was searching for, not physically though. But her heart ached every step of the hallway of that haunted place that could be used as an American Horror Story set location.

The freaking place was a nightmare and Toni could not imagine Cheryl spending her days there. And the fact that they - Veronica tagged along - were not finding her anywhere was making her chest tighten and a lump form on her throat. They had to find her.

That might be why Toni decided she would call the redhead’s name, loud and clear, hoping she would listen and give some kind of indication of where she was. Probably not the best idea? Probably not the best idea. But she found her, and that’s what mattered.

When the pink haired serpent imagined their first kiss, that’s definitely not what she pictured. A traumatized girl, crying in her embrace, as they both lean forward and desperately seal their lips. No. She imagined it would be at Pop’s or even at the girls’ locker room, to be honest, not in a terrorizing version of some kind of orphanage with just as traumatized kids watching them. But Cheryl was there, and Cheryl was safe and Toni’s heart ached so much that she didn’t even care.

She needed Cheryl, and Cheryl needed her too.

And they kissed and held each other until they couldn’t anymore. Until Veronica showed up at the door telling them they had to run. So they ran.

Their hands never left each others’.

It wasn’t until they were safe at the back of Kevin’s truck that reality sank in. Toni had Cheryl. Cheryl was safe in Toni’s arms, and with that thought, the serpent clung to her friend - or whatever they were - even more, holding her tight as she felt her own shoulders wet with tears. She was not letting anything or anyone take the girl away from her.

“Toni.” Kevin called from the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

“Sunnyside.” She quickly answered, it was the safest place in her mind. But Veronica’s eyes widening in shock made her second guess her opinion.

“Are you sure, Toni?” The raven haired asked and Toni considered letting go of Cheryl for the girl to be comfortable at Veronica’s place, but the grip she had around Toni’s neck made her change her mind because she was not going to let Cheryl out of her sight until she felt it was safe again. And Cheryl was anything but safe living under Hiram Lodge’s roof.

“I am!” Toni nodded, tightening her grip on Cheryl, pulling her impossibly closer “Cheryl’s been there already, she doesn’t mind.” She added, remembering the night of the party the redhead had too much to drink and Toni took her to her trailer, waiting for a sarcastic remark or disgusted response when they both woke up the next day, with Cheryl more sober, only to be met with gentle eyes and a request for the serpent to show her around.

They spent a great day that time, laughing and talking about anything and everything, until Cheryl’s phone rang causing an panicky/unhappy expression on her face. Back then, Toni had known bits of pieces about how nightmarish the Blossom woman was, but she would never imagine things would get to the point of having to save Cheryl from conversion therapy. It wasn’t until their last conversation, at Nana Rose’s bedside hospital bed, that the younger Blossom confided in her about the physical abuse.

Toni was pulled out of her thoughts by Cheryl, whispering worriedly. “Won’t your uncle be there?” The serpent shook her head.

“He might be there, but we’re not going to my trailer tonight.” She felt the girl relax a little, knowing there would be no confrontations between Toni and her uncle because of her, she figured. “I gave Sweet Pea a heads up before we left.”

Sweet Pea had his own trailer, one of the reasons why Toni crashed at his more than at her own. Sweet Pea was also her best friend, so she knew they would be safe there. Did he know Cheryl Blossom was coming with her? Nope. She just said she and a friend needed a place to stay. Would he cooperate had she told him Cheryl Blossom was coming with her? Nope. If there’s someone who hates the Blossoms to the extent of feeling no empathy for the death of the male twin, that someone was Sweet Pea. But did Toni have a choice? She absolutely didn’t, so she was just hoping Sweet Pea wasn’t going to be an ass about it, not after seeing the damaged girl in front of him. Sweet Pea had a soft spot for the hurt.

“He doesn’t really like me.” Cheryl simply commented, still whispering. Toni didn’t know if she was just trying to keep quiet or if she’d lost her voice in that place, the serpent could only hope for the former.

“He doesn’t like your family, you’re right about that.” Toni caressed the girl’s hair to give her some assurance. “But what did I tell you before? You’re-“

“- nothing like my family.” Cheryl completed and Toni gave her a tiny peck on the forehead.

“Good girl.”

“Toni, we’re here.” Veronica announced, as they entered the trailer park, pulling the girls out of their own universe. “Are you really sure-?”

Toni wouldn’t even let her finish asking, just answered with an “I am!” again. “Just park next to that tree over there and we’ll walk from here.” She instructed.

Kevin did as he was told and the serpent had a feeling he was more comfortable with the idea of Cheryl staying there than Veronica was. One could say he’s only had good experiences with the Serpents so far, so there was nothing for him to worry about, Toni thought.

“Bombshell, shall we go?” She asked, nudging Cheryl a little, as Kevin parked the truck. The girl nodded and moved out of her lap, giving Toni the space to leave the truck first. As she did, she turned around and offered a hand to Cheryl, who quickly thanked both occupants of the room with promises to keep in touch and grabbed the offered hand.

The wind was making the night colder and Toni contemplated giving her jacket for Cheryl to wear, but she saw the Blossom girl stumble a little, getting paler by the seconds, and decided to embrace her in a side hug as they walked, half dragging half supporting her weight. The walk wasn’t long anyways and the fact that Cheryl was even able to stand relieved Toni somehow.

They arrived at Sweet’s door not much longer, Toni looking at Cheryl one last time before knocking on the door. As it opened, she felt the Vixen move a bit closer, and wrapped her arms tighter against her while staring at her best friend.

It took Sweet Pea a few seconds to realize that yes, Cheryl Blossom was at his doorstep and yes, she was being hugged by none other than his best friend. Toni saw it from the way his eyes darted from Toni to the girl and a frown formed on his face. But there was no other place to go, no other safe place to go, she thought, so she just stood there, holding her ‘friend’ and looking pleadingly at her best friend, engaging on a staring contest/silent conversation with him.

‘She’s not a threat. JUST LOOK AT HER.’ She wanted to scream at him. ‘And let us in already.’

Maybe the serpent boy heard her thoughts, because he did take a look at Cheryl, his frown did soften a little, and he did step aside so they could both get in.

“Thank you, Sweets.” Toni said, dragging the girl inside.

“Anytime, Tiny. My house is yours, you know that.” He answered, quickly moving to the kitchen and grabbing the half eaten cereal bowl on the counter. “I just wish you’d let me know a member of the Royal Family was coming, so I would put a red carpet on the hallway or something.” Although being nice enough to let them in, Toni knew she wouldn’t be able to stop the boy’s sarcastic remarks. But they were safe, and that’s what mattered.

So lost in the thought about their safety, Toni nearly missed Cheryl’s next words.

“I’m nothing like my family.” She said in a husky voice - and that did confirm that something happened in that place to make the redhead lose her voice -, looking up from Toni’s embrace, straight to Sweet Pea, that actually looked at her with a small grin.

“Well, let’s just hope you’re right, princess.” The serpent answered, pointing his spoon at them. Toni saw amusement in his eyes, though, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

Toni always thought that, for some reason, Sweet Pea and Cheryl would be great friends if each let their prejudices aside to actually talk and interact normal and healthily. Him letting them in was a beginning, although she knew he only did that because he trusted Toni that much. Maybe when all that mess was over, she could think about how to make some progress in Cheryl and Sweet Pea’s ‘to be built’ friendship. But for now, she just needed them not to slice each other’s throats - she actually needed Sweet Pea to behave because no matter Cheryl’s temper and strength, she would be unable to harm anyone given her current state-.

Cheryl’s wince by Toni’s side made both of the serpents look at her and Sweet Pea grabbed the nearest chair for her as Toni helped her sit down.

“Thanks.” She muttered, holding her left side.

“No problem, Bombshell.” Toni answered, pushing a string of red hair behind the girl’s ear. “What happened over there?” She gently asked, putting her hand on top of Cheryl’s, slowly taking it off the spot the girl was holding earlier to take a better look at it. A giant bruise was forming on her waist, with smaller bruises surrounding it.

“Let’s just say they were not really fond of uncooperative convertees.” The redhead explained - with that husky voice that was already making Toni’s fist curl -, and the serpent girl had to fight every inch of her body not to go back to that place and murder each and every person that made her girl suffer. “They also didn’t hesitate to use physical force when displeased at some attitudes. On top of everything else.”

“On top of everything else?” Toni questioned, but quickly regretted it as she felt the taller girl’s hands tremble, her breath hitch and saw tears ready to leave her eyes. “Hey! Hey! Bombshell! There’s no need to talk about that now, ok?” The pink haired girl soothed her by caressing her hair, an act she knew calmed the girl down. “Let’s just focus on treating these injuries, alright?”

Seeing Cheryl nod slowly, she looked at Sweet Pea and asked him where the first aid kit was. The boy had a somber look on his face, almost as if he was trying to conceal anger at what he was hearing and seeing, and said he was going to fetch it for her. “Whenever you’re ready.” She whispered in Cheryl’s ear, still trying to calm her down.

Sweet Pea came soon after, holding a small box full of necessary tools for safely treat injuries. Every serpent had at least three of those. That was a new one, Toni noticed, not having been used once.

While tending the girl sitting in front of her, Toni realized she hadn’t really looked at her that well after their great escape. Cheryl had a lot of bruises on the uncovered parts of her body, she also had needle marks on her arms and burn marks around her wrists, ankles and some small ones on her forehead. The sight of it made Toni sick to her stomach and her heart ached so much she just wanted to wrap her arms around the redhead until the world was an absolutely safe place for them to be themselves.

“Where were you both, anyways?” Sweet Pea asked while helping Toni with choosing the right ointments and band-aids for each bruise.

Toni decided to give him a slightly vague answer by answering “Sisters of Quiet Mercy.” because she knew he wouldn’t know what exactly happened that off the records, and she just didn’t want to disclose that much about Cheryl and break her trust.

But, at the same time she answered that, Cheryl said “Conversion Therapy.”

“Damn!” Toni saw him hold the box a little bit tighter, his knuckles turning white, as his mouth hanged opened in shock.

“Exactly my first word when I was thrown in there by mother dearest.” Cheryl simply stated. However, Toni knew it was just a well put façade, she knew being thrown there by her mother hurt more than Cheryl wanted to admit.

“I’m sorry.” Sweet Pea said and Cheryl took her eyes off the ground to look at him, Toni still tending her wounds but paying close attention to the interaction.

“You did nothing.” Cheryl shrugged “If anything, I should be the one apologizing for intruding your home.”

“You stay here as long as you need. Heard it, Tiny?” He said and Toni just nodded, finishing her work. “You’re both safe here.

Toni was right. Sweet Pea did have a soft spot for the hurt.

As Cheryl thanked him again, Toni helped her up to her feet. Helping her get to the small bathroom, which Sweet Pea informed that had hot water and should be used to rid Cheryl of the last remains of that awful place, while he went to his room to get them both some comfortable T-shirts.

At first, Toni was hesitant to help Cheryl on the showering task,not sure how the latter would take having to be helped and seen naked. But the girl asked her to stay and said she needed her help, so Toni stayed and helped her wash out all the remains of that nightmare. Not once sparing a glance at the redhead’s naked body if not to help. They would have time for it later, to admire each other’s body later. When Cheryl was ready.

Turning the shower off, Toni helped Cheryl get dressed and changed her own clothes. After that, she helped Cheryl walk to the kitchen, seeing her straighten up as Sweet Pea looked at them from the kitchen counter, drinking a can of beer.

“Sit down.” The boy motioned to the couch and they both did as they were offered.

Toni couldn’t help but notice Cheryl had already put some walls around herself. Badly concealed walls, that would crack under any circumstance, but walls nonetheless.

“Should you be drinking that?” She heard the girl sitting by her side ask, looking at the beer with a weird face.

“Shouldn’t I?” He asked, raising his eyebrow. “Want some food?”

Cheryl shook her head, making Toni wonder when was the last time they gave her food, but was soon taken out from her thoughts by Cheryl’s next words.

“You probably shouldn’t. We have class tomorrow!”

“We?” Toni asked, trying not to sound so shocked.

“TT, it’s not weekend yet.” That was her answer.

“Well, no. But it’s ok if you don’t go back to school right after what happened.” The shorter girl tried to argue.

“Oh, TT. Don’t worry about that.” Cheryl’s tone was dismissive, but Toni could see something in her eyes. Fear? Insecurity?

“And how exactly shouldn’t Tiny not worry when you’re rushing out to school after escaping from an horrendous place?” Sweet Pea interjected.

Toni noticed a small break on Cheryl’s put up walls, given away by the look on her eyes before she shook her head and answered.

“What happened, happened. And I’m glad and thankful that Toni helped me escape.” Cheryl tried to sit up straighter, only to fail, and Toni realized it must have been a strain on one of her wounds.

“Thirty minutes ago you couldn’t even look up from the ground.” Sweet Pea argued, taking a sip from his drink. “How are you eventually so confident about facing real life again?”

“That’s how things are.” Cheryl shrugged, making Toni watch her carefully for any signs of distress, but all she saw was conformation “I suck it up and I eventually get over it.” Hearing that hurt more than the serpent would ever understand, and it shocked her best friend too, by the way he looked at her as if she were an alien.

“Now we should all go to sleep, we have class tomorrow.” The redhead announced, her voice still husky, but trying to raise her tone a little higher and smile.

That smile was fake, anyone could see it.

“No!” Sweet Pea’s voice was firm, but somehow soft.

“Pardon me?” By the change of her voice, Toni realized that was a word Cheryl wasn’t really used to when coming from someone else’s mouth.

“You’ve been through a lot. Your GPA can survive a couple more days without attending class” He stated, simply,

“A couple more...?”

“No one here is expecting to suck it up and get over it, princess.” The boy rolled his eyes, talking patiently, as if explaining something to a kid. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s healthier to deal with things.”

“Honestly,” Cheryl scoffed “there is nothing to deal with.” She rolled her eyes and Toni gently touched her leg, her hand resting just above the girl’s knee.

It’s possible to say Toni was conflicted. As much as she wanted Cheryl to show the school the HBIC was back, she also knew bottling things up wasn’t good. And Cheryl had years of abuse bottled up, because Toni was sure one does not simply ‘eventually get over it’. So she watched the interaction between Sweets and Cheryl inventively, ready to stop it whenever Sweet Pea got too far, but just hoping for him to change the redhead’s mind.

Truth be told, Toni didn’t think Cheryl was really ready to go to school either.

“You were sent to conversion therapy by your own mother!” The boy exclaimed, taking a deep breath not to lose his cool when she saw Cheryl flinch at his words. “I wouldn’t call that nothing.” He added, a little calmer than before.

“So what? I just stay in here, thinking about everything that’s happened, losing my mind because of it?” Cheryl retorted, crossing her arms around herself and Toni gave her tight a little squeeze. She was there for her. “I’m sorry if I don’t think that’s a good way of dealing with things.”

“And neither is pretending!”

“Cher-“ Toni called, knowing it was time to intervene when she saw tears in the girl’s eyes. “Sweet Pea is not wrong.” She said, and Cheryl looked at her with widen eyes, tears spilling from them.

“Toni, I don’t know how-“

“It’s okay, baby. You’ve been through a lot.” Wiping the tears away from Cheryl’s face with her thumb, she failed to notice the small smile that formed on the other’s face with the use of a pet name. “No one is expecting you to just go back to normal, no matter how much you want it to be.”

Seeing Cheryl nod, acknowledging the words, she continued, Sweet Pea taking a seat right next to the Blossom. “You’ve been through something terrible and you want something to take your mind away from it. It’s understandable. But facing a bunch of stupid teens for the sake of your façade is not the best idea.”

“What do you suggest, then?” It wasn’t a challenge, the serpents knew. Cheryl just didn’t really know how to do. “I’d never really done it differently.”

“You stay here.” Sweet Pea answered. “You both stay. You have a perfect attendance and Toni’s is not really at risk.”

“It’s Wednesday,” it was Toni’s time to speak “we’ll have Thursday, Friday and the weekend to sort things out.”

“If you don’t feel better by the time Sunday comes, you can miss a few more days.” The serpent boy added and Toni thanked all the possible gods she had him as her best friend. “There’s no pressure, Red. Just take things slow, ok?”

Cheryl nodded at the boy and Toni moved her hand from the redhead’s leg to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Cheryl dropped her head on the pink haired serpent’s shoulder.

“We can watch all those trashy reality TV shows you secretly like.” She heard a giggle coming from Cheryl and Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. “And we can also talk about what happened.. whenever you’re ready.”

“Toni...” Cheryl barely called, her husky voice mixing with her disrupted breaths and trembling lips. “The things they’ve done...”

Toni knew she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, that’s why she didn’t let the girl finish, not even sure if she was about to say something more in first place, choosing to lay a kiss on the crown of her neck instead, making the girl look up. As she did so, Toni gently pecked her lips, pressing their foreheads together.

“You don’t need to talk about that now, Cher.” Toni assured “Take your time. Baby steps, ok?”

“Ok.” Cheryl muttered, burying her face in the serpent’s neck.

After some time in silence, Sweet Pea was the first to break it.

“Well, I’m off to bed.” He announced, and both girls looked at him. “Good night to you all.”

“Toni, you know where your room is.” He told his friend “Blossom...” His gaze lingered at her for a few seconds, he simply had no words, Toni knew - because she had no words either - “I’m sorry this happened to you.” He said and Cheryl offered a small smile.

“Thank you for everything.” Cheryl said. And if he had a few words left in him before, he definitely had none after that, by the way Toni saw him dismissively wave his hand and say something like “Don’t stress about it.” Heading to his room soon after.

“Wanna head to bed?” Toni asked, smiling as her girl cutely tried to suppress a yawn.

“Will you sleep in bed with me this time or is the floor more comfortable?” Cheryl asked, talking about that night at the party where she let Cheryl have the bed and slept on top of a few blankets on the floor.

While Toni helped her up, she answered. “Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.” She wanted to be with Cheryl, but she also wanted to give her space, so that’s why she said that.

“I’m more comfortable when I’m with you.” The redhead stated as they headed to the bedroom. Toni could feel her a little tense, as if she was embarrassed to say that.

“Me too, Bombshell.” Toni said and felt the girl relax. “I never really took you for the cuddle princess though.” She teased and both of them chuckled.

“Shut up! I’m vulnerable!” Cheryl pouted, suppressing a grin.

As they entered the bedroom, Toni took Cheryl to the bed and helped her lay down and soon followed her, pulling the blanket on top of them.

“I like cuddly Cheryl.” The pink haired girl confessed as the girl turned her back to her and Toni carefully put an arm around her, trying her best to avoid the bruises she knew existed around that area.

“I like you.” Cheryl muttered, expecting not to be heard, maybe?

Toni pressed a kiss on her neck, gently whispering in her ear. “I like you too, Bombshell. So much.”

They had a lot to talk about. They had yet to talk about their kiss, or what they were from now on. Toni would be whatever Cheryl needed her to be, but she couldn’t help but wish they became girlfriends. But all that talk could wait, they’d had a long night and still had a few days to sort things out.

“Let’s just rest, ok?” She said, knowing Cheryl was slowly drifting off to sleep, her nose still touching Cheryl’s neck. “You’re safe here, baby. I promise you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter concludes the story.  
> Thank you very much for reading it! I do appreciate all the comments and kudos.  
> I hope you liked this work as much as I liked writing it. :)


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